VII THE SLAVES 1^3 pet form Xanthidion) red hair i The last name i^as so fre- quent that it confirms the existence of a great number of Thracian and Scythian slaves - The outlook of comedy is, as always, limited; but as to the origin of slaves and the way they were acquired, no evidence from other sources adds much to the picture For instance, the male and female slaves of the metic Kephisiodoros were offered for sale, as we know from an inscription; thev included Thracians, Syrians, Canans, Illynans, Scythians, Colchians^ Cappadocians and Lydians 3 Probably the ratio of Greek to non-Greek slaves, indicating a certain preponderance of non- Greeks, is rightly reflected in comedy. The fact that so many non-Greeks were among the slaves gave force to the assertion that the Eastern peoples were naturally destined to be the slaves of the Greeks This view took its justification from mythical events like the Trojan War, but dominated contem- porary opinion, and was largely based on the assertion that in the East all but the king were slaves * Comedy is also true to life in representing female slaves as outnumbering the male slaves. They were in part servants of the mistress, in part concubines of the master ory in general, servants of Aphrodite." The child of a maidservant, born in the house, was sometimes put in the place of the child of the mistress, a boy for instance in the place of a girl 6 Naturally, most of the work of the female slave was housework." The comedians sometimes refer to lazy or drunken slave-girls, or to an allied city talking like an ill-treated maid/ We shall see further on that these various features will fit into a general picture Of male slaves we may first mention the public servants, who formed a group of their own.9 The demws^ or executioner, 1 K,67 — E 868 -Theop 32, 8, 1G P, 329 (Sys/* 96, Tod, 79),